THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
OCTOBER 15, 2009
Many airlines may be violating federal rules on reimbursing travelers for expenses when baggage is lost, delayed or damaged on domestic flights, and the federal government is finally cracking down to help consumers.
Taking a tougher stand on how airlines treat travelers, the Department of Transportation fined Spirit Airlines $375,000 last month for multiple violations of federal rules, including violations of domestic baggage-reimbursement requirements. Late last week, the DOT warned other carriers that their baggage-reimbursement policies appear to violate federal rules, too. "We have learned that a number of airlines have adopted policies that purport to limit reimbursement for such expenses in a variety of ways," the DOT said in its notice to airlines Friday.
A Wall Street Journal examination of practices at 14 airlines shows that many carriers have some of the same restrictions that resulted in the official censure of Spirit Airlines. One violation cited by the DOT was that Spirit made customers wait 24 hours after luggage was lost or delayed before covering any incidental costs travelers had to pay, such as toiletries or replacement clothes. DOT rules prohibit such waiting periods. The agency also said Spirit reimbursed customers for incidental expenses only if bags went missing on the outbound portion of a round-trip journey, yet the DOT's rule applies to "any flight segment."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...405503424.html
